In mold assemblies of the type used in injection molding, means must be provided for effectively restraining the mold side walls from outward movement during the injection process wherein fluid pressures are experienced by the mold side walls. Conventional mold assembly apparatus for supporting mold side walls results in requirements of long molding machine strokes and reduces the speed and efficiency at which the molding machine can operate. Further, manufacturers have sought mold assembly design for supporting the side walls which permits use of reduced clamping pressures thereby permitting the molding process to be accomplished in a less costly molding machine.
Another deficiency common with respect to the prior art molding devices results from characteristics inherent in their design inasmuch as these devices have generally been incapable of precisely positioning the molded article in a predetermined position following the molding operation. Accordingly, it has been difficult to grip the molded article by robots or other remotely controllable devices.